


third time's the charm

by cinderfell



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Chroma Conclave Time Skip, Critical Role Relationship Week, F/F, Flirting, Just Some Fun Girls Flirting, Mentioned Kashaw/Keyleth, Mentioned Percy/Vex, Mentions of Pike's Canon Crushes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-24 20:55:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14962025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinderfell/pseuds/cinderfell
Summary: So maybe Pike's not too lucky when it comes to love, that doesn't seem to stop the fact that things are looking up in this crowded bar in Vasselheim.





	third time's the charm

**Author's Note:**

> day one of critical role relationship week, an event i host! first day is both familiar territory because it's campaign one, but also a challenge because i love the concept of this ship but had to find a way to make them work when they barely interacted. that, and i also haven't written fanfic since february. so i'm please as punch i got this done.

Curiosity comes to her in a crowded tavern on a cold Vasseheim night over a mug of ale, clad in navy silks and crimson skin. 

"Pike, darling!" 

Pike pauses mid sip, blinking before she sets her mug down on the bar and looks at the source of the voice. Indeed, there's nobody else it could be. Zahra Hydris, in all her glory, has spotted her among the crowded tavern. She stands at the far side of the room like she just walked in and sports a big, sharp-toothed smile, her tail flicking back and forth. 

"Zahra?" Pike says incredulously, soft enough that her voice is lost under the bustle of the tavern. It doesn't matter, because as soon as Pike looks at her, Zahra's smile widens. With an elegant sway to her hips, the woman makes her way over. 

Now, Pike doesn't know Zahra too well. The cost of being away all of the time-- well, one of the many costs. She missed meeting Zahra the first time, which really is a shame given the recountings she heard half the group tell about the adventure are some of her favorite stories she's been caught up on. Her favorite is still the part about Percy's pajama incident, because no matter how you cut it that is _hilarious_. 

Beyond that, they met for the first time in Whitestone. Zahra is gorgeous, intelligent, and wicked charming-- and she knows it. Pike appreciates that. She likes women who know exactly what they're worth and aren't about to dumb themselves down. That's part of why she likes Vex and Kima, and a big part of why she's happy Keyleth has become more and more sure of herself in recent months. 

They didn't spend too much time together, however. Zahra was always researching or working on enchanting, both things Pike respects but… isn't too interested in herself. Zahra spent her time in the library. Pike spent hers in the temples. When they did see each other, they definitely got along well, at least. 

Shouldering past a rather drunken man, Zahra takes a seat at the bar on the stool next to Pike. 

"It's so good to see you!" Zahra says with a grin, and immediately flags the bartender down. The half-elf woman gives her a once over before gesturing back at the barrels of ale behind her. Zahra shakes her head. "I'll take some wine, my dear. Nothing too fancy, but interesting enough. Red." 

The woman rifles around and shows Zahra a bottle, which she glances over before nodding. The bartender asks, "A glass, then?" 

"The whole bottle," Zahra says, and the bartender visibly perks up at that. "How much?" 

"Ten gold," the bartender says. "I know you said not too fancy, but--" 

"It's fine." Zahra waves her hand and flashes the woman a smile of reassurance. "It sounds lovely." 

"I'll pay," Pike says suddenly, speaking up for the first time. The bartender and Zahra both look at her. 

"Oh, darling, you don't have to," Zahra says. 

"It's fine, I want to." Rifling around in her pouch, she finds the coin and hands it over to the bartender, who nods and uncorks the bottle and hands it over to Zahra. They both thank the woman before she scurries off to another part of the bar to take orders. 

Zahra raises her eyebrow at her. 

"What?" Pike asks, thumbing the handle of her mug. 

"You always buy a girl her drinks?" Zahra's eyes glimmer with amusement. 

For a moment, her brain stops working. Pike isn't… good with identifying flirting. Sure, she knows what Scanlan-- the man's name fills her with such sadness and anger now, and she doesn't want to focus on that tonight, so she pushes it down-- is like when he flirts. But in general? No. But this? This seems like flirting. Maybe? She's barely spoken to Zahra. This could just be a very friendly way of teasing her. She knows Zahra does the same thing with Vex and Kashaw and the other members of Vox Machina she's better acquainted with, but they don't really know each other, so maybe it is-- or maybe it's like she thought and is just Zahra trying to be funny-- 

"Only when they're as lovely as you," Pike blurts out before her brain catches up with her mouth, because it's the first response she thought of so it's what comes out. She instantly feels the tips of her ears start to heat up. 

Zahra laughs. She laughs and Pike starts to laugh too, mostly out of relief that she hasn't just made this awkward. 

"So what are you doing over here?" Zahra asks, and Pike watches her take a sip straight from the bottle. 

"I'm here to tend to the temple of Sarenrae here," Pike explains. "They're mostly on their own feet now. A lot of worshippers have found there way here, and a lot more have found a new comfort in the Everlight. Still, I want to be here to help them." 

"You must be very proud," Zahra says, and crosses on leg over the other, the waterfall of silk that is her dress making even this elegant. Pike swears, she's never seen someone so elegant in her life. 

"I am!" Pike says. Indeed, she can't help but feel like they've made a lot of progress. It's cost her a lot-- she's been away from her friends, been gone when they needed her most, felt loneliness deeper than any cut-- but it's been worth it in the end, even if she carries some regrets and thoughts about what could've been had she been there. 

"What about Grog?" Zahra asks, and puts her elbow up on the bar and leans her chin into it, fully turning to Pike now. Pike has never been one for table manners-- they're silly to her, honestly-- but of all the people she thought would be extremely against putting elbows on the table, Zahra would be on that list. She seems to have been wrong however. Again, there's no reason to Zahra to be so graceful as she does this, but she is. 

"Oh!" Pike perks up even more. "He's here too! He's been fighting up in the Crucible!" 

Zahra laughs at that, looking pleased. "Oh, is he? I really must stop by and watch some time. Is he still the champion?" 

"Of course!" Pike grins. 

"What about you, my darling?" Zahra tilts her head with a big grin. 

"Me?" Pike repeats, blinking. "Oh, I'm not competing! I just watch and support him!" 

"Really? I must say, I bet you would be an absolute monster if you did." At the praise, Pike feels her ears heat up even more. "And I'm sure Grog would be all too pleased to compete against his best friend." 

"You think so?" Pike bites her lip. She'd be lying if she said she hasn't considered it. It looks fun. She also knows that she's a priest of Sarenrae, and people are looking at her in this city now, so maybe it's not for the best that one of the most well-known followers of the Everlight engage in something so rowdy and uncivilized. 

Rowdy and uncivilized and so, so fun. 

"I cross my heart and swear to the moon that I believe you would decimate the Crucible if you tried," Zahra says, and lowers her voice to a whisper, like that makes it special. Just for her. It definitely works. 

Pike giggles. Actually giggles. Zahra's smile grows wider at the sound, and Pike's face surely goes redder. "I'll think about it." 

"Good girl," Zahra laughs, and Pike _definitely_ goes bright red at that, and she's sure Zahra notices too. "Where is the big man, anyways?" 

"Brothel," Pike says simply, trying to focus on making herself calm down. 

"Ah," Zahra says. 

"Ah," Pike agrees, because when in doubt, it's safe to assume that when Grog's not at a tavern, he's at a brothel, and when he's not at a brothel, he's at a tavern. 

After a moment, Zahra snorts. "Well, good for him. I'm sure he deserves some fun." 

"He does," she says instantly. Of course he does. The past couple months after everything happened-- well, it's been fun, but it's also been a lot. Especially with someone in their group, their family, missing because he doesn't want to be found. It's hit Grog that hardest, she thinks. So yeah, she'd definitely say he deserves all the fun and happiness he can get. "So what about you?" 

Zahra hums. "Why am I here, I assume?" 

"Yup." Pike takes a sip from her drink, but she finds herself slowing down. She'd much rather have this conversation mostly sober, keep herself focused on Zahra. 

"Well, after Thordak fell, Kash and I decided to take a vacation. Enough of the dragons, enough of the fighting." She laughs. "It worked at first. We went sightseeing. Neither of us really have seen as much of the world as we'd like, and even when he's grumpy I know he likes seeing new things too. Doesn't stop him from complaining, of course." 

Pike has talked to Kash even less than Zahra, but her first impression of him-- according the Vex and Keyleth-- was "above average" in that he was mostly friendly to her despite being covered in gore. 

("Honestly," Keyleth had said, "who _doesn't_ like you?" 

She'd laughed.) 

"And then we ended up back here in Vasselheim, and we went _oh, I know, let's take one contract from the Slayer's Take just for old time's sake_." She rolls her eyes. "And then we kept taking contracts, and we both realized we had fallen into doing exactly what we were doing before. We're both busy bodies, I suppose, have to keep doing things." 

"Where is Kashaw?" Pike asks, and a quick look around the room produces no sight of the grumpy human with his striking mismatched eyes. 

Zahra waves her hand. "Probably back at the Take. He doesn't like socializing much." 

"And you're not…" Pike starts, because the question has made her wonder for a while now. She trails off, not wanting to offend. 

Zahra, of course, seems to not care at all. "Together? No, no. If anything, Brother Kashaw is still pining after a certain redhead." 

Pike raises an eyebrow. "Really?" 

Zahra smiles slyly. "Oh, yes. Now, don't tell anyone I told you. He will be awfully upset." 

Pike shakes her head frantically. "Oh no! No, I won't! It's not my place!" 

She does, however, very clearly remember Keyleth looking back over her shoulder at Kashaw at the gates when he and Zahra stayed behind to fight the giants and hold them back. 

"Maybe his pining isn't as hopeless as he may think," she says slowly, and Zahra's smile widens. 

"Oh? Quite interesting. Perhaps I'll see if I can get his ass moving and actually do something about it then," she says. Pike smiles. 

Zahra takes a long sip from her bottle, keeping her eyes on Pike as she does so. Her chest tightens, and Pike licks her lips and spins her mug of ale slowly on the table to keep her hands busy. 

"What about you, Pike? Did you bring anybody special to you with on your temple oversight quest?" Zahra asks. 

"Grog?" Pike says, because she thought that was well established at this point. 

Zahra laughs at that. "No, my dear! Not like that." 

Pike looks at Zahra blankly. 

Then she splutters, reaching up to cover her mouth and stop that in its tracks before she looks like an utter fool. "Um-- no, no I can't say I did." 

Zahra tilts her head, her white hair falling down across her red shoulder and her navy dress. "Really? You're quite a catch, Pike. Even I can tell, and I haven't spoken to you nearly as much as I would like." 

"O-oh," Pike manages. "Thank you? Um. No, there's nobody. I'm not all too lucky with people in that way, I guess." 

A bit of an understatement, she thinks. Her first major crush is in love with one of her best friends and now they're seriously dating and living together. She doesn't quite feel the same about Percy now-- it hurt, of course, but she accepted it because she loves both him and Vex dearly and only wants them to be happy, and in the end it finally helped her feelings fizzle out-- but it's still definitely not a great bullet point on the list of her romantic history. 

The second major crush-- and part of her still hesitates to call it that, but that's what it felt like-- left. Not her, but their group. And he had his reasons, of course, even if she didn't agree with the way things were handled, but still. It felt like heartbreak. It still does. And now she has the added bitterness mixed in among the concoction of sadness and confusion. 

So no. Pike isn't too lucky with people in that way. 

Zahra clucks her tongue. "That's such a shame, darling. Anybody would be lucky to have you. In the meantime… I suppose I just have you all to myself, right?" 

She says it with a sly smile, and suddenly the solemness that had momentarily taken over Pike is gone, like a cloud burst through by sunshine. "Oh-- um, yes! I suppose so!" 

Oh Sweet Sarenrae. Is she misreading this? Is this flirting? Is this her being friendly in her own way? Is she imagining things? Is-- 

Zahra laughs, breaking Pike from her stupor. "I'm sorry, Pike. I do hope I'm not overstepping or misreading things. I really do wish to get to know you better, and I'd be delighted to do so in anyway you feel comfortable with, be it just this nice chat or something else." 

Her brain short circuits, stuck on _something else_. There are all kinds of things that could mean, and all of them are-- well, all of them are delightful, and-- 

Pike coughs, reaching up and tugging at her shirt collar, suddenly finding it harder to breathe. "I-- I am definitely not opposed to getting to know you better, Zahra." 

Zahra smiles and claps her hands together in delight. "I'm glad! Any suggestions, then?" 

Pike wets her lips. "You mentioned competing in the Crucible?" 

"I did," Zahra confirms, her eyes sparkling with interest. 

"Well, they're running it again tomorrow. Open entry for newcomers." She clears her throat. "If I do that, would you like to watch?" 

Zahra's tail swishes back and forth wildly, like a cat who just got the canary. "Would I like to watch a pretty woman destroy the competition in combat? My dear Pike, there is nothing I would rather watch." 

At the words _pretty woman_ , Pike can't contain a pleased grin. 

"Then I suppose it's a…" Pike trails off. 

"A date," Zahra finishes. Pike nods in agreement. "Well, I am ever so excited for tomorrow. With that said," Zahra starts to stand up, straightening the skirts of her dress so it falls right, "I do believe it's best for me to go back and check to see that Kashaw hasn't accidentally gotten into a fight by showing his face to someone." 

Pike pauses. "Wait. Has that happened before?" 

"He's quite unlikable, apparently," Zahra says with amusement. 

"He's not too bad," Pike says. After all, she thinks, Keyleth has a thing for him. 

"Well, you can tell that to the bouncer who tossed his ass out of a tavern after two sentences." Zahra laughs as she says it though, quite obviously finding amusement in the whole thing. 

"Okay, maybe he's that bad," Pike relents. 

"Maybe," Zahra agrees. 

She's about to wish the tiefling woman a good night, when suddenly Zahra reaches out to touch her hand, her long red fingers skimming over her knuckles before coming around to hold her hand delicately. She then lifts her hand, bending down to press a kiss against Pike's knuckles. 

Pike forgets how to think. 

Zahra's words as she stands back up with a smug expression are lost on her, and the woman gives her a graceful wave before sauntering out of the tavern, bottle of wine still in her hand. 

She sits like that for a solid minute, her hand still outstretched in the air where Zahra left it. Finally, she comes back to herself and turns back to her drink, her face hotter than it's ever been. 

"I have a date," she whispers to herself, and her own voice shakes with glee. "I have a date with Zahra and I have to tell Grog." 

From behind the bar, the half-elven woman snorts and refills her ale for free, offering her a pat on the shoulder before turning back to the other customers. 

Pike raises her hand and presses her lips to where Zahra kissed her knuckles. 


End file.
